Everyday Shopping Apps That Pay Cash and Rewards Part 1

I previously posted about Mobile Mystery Shopping apps that earn cash for you. Today I want to share some everyday shopping apps that pay cash and rewards. I’ll begin with 3 that I use and tell you about the others in a future post.

This post contains affiliate links.

1. Receipt Hog (iOS and Android)

What is it?

This is my favorite reward earning shopping app because of the incredible ease associated with it. You simply take a photo of your store receipts with your mobile device and submit them. Store receipts are accepted for grocery stores, club stores, pharmacies, department stores and more.

You earn coins based on the total amount you spend. When you reach a certain number of coins, you are eligible to scan the barcodes of applicable products and participate in quick shopping trip surveys for more coins.

Which forms of payment do you receive?

What I have earned with this app

In almost a year, I have earned 3465 coins (and counting). That has made me eligible for $5, $10, or $20 in PayPal cash or a $5, $10, or $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Pros

The app processes receipts quickly. You can submit receipts for up to 14 days after the purchase. You can earn additional coins for scanning barcodes, quick surveys, and via spins on the Hog Slots (where you earn additional coins, value of a shopping trip, or cash). There are sweepstakes opportunities also. When you submit at least one receipt for 5 consecutive weeks, you earn Hog Wild status which earns you more coins.

Cons

Receipts for restaurants and gas only are not currently being accepted. The number of coins earned per chance is low, so it takes some time to get to redemption status. After you reach the maximum of 20 grocery receipts and 20 retail receipts submitted during a week, you earn a lower number of coins for any additional receipts submitted during that time period. The referral bonus program was discontinued.

Receipt Hog Tips

Hang on to your receipts until you receive confirmation that they have been successfully processed. When you become eligible to scan applicable barcodes, do so ASAP because the perk expires after a certain amount of time. This is primarily a mobile app, but you should register an e-mail address/PayPal address on the Receipt Hog website. This will be needed to confirm redemption of your rewards. You get 100 coins for doing so!

2. Ibotta (iOS and Android)

What is it?

I am still learning all that this app has to offer. The short explanation is you unlock rebates on specific products from specific stores/retailers, scan and submit itemized receipts, and earn cash and rewards. Answer a quick question, watch a quick video, or read a trivia fact to unlock the rebates. It’s not just for grocery retailers. Restaurants, movie theaters, online purchases, and more are applicable too.

Which forms of payment do you receive?

PayPal cash, Venmo, and various gift cards. The redemption threshold is $10.

What I have earned with this app

In 6 months, I have earned $2.75 from 11 rebates and 7 bonuses. However, I am still learning how to reap all of the benefits of this app.

Pros

There is no limit to the number of receipts that you can submit. You can unlock rebates before or after shopping. A list of unlocked rebates will be saved in a shopping list for easy retrieval. All of your activity is listed on the app to remind you of expiring rebates/submissions and earning potential. You will earn $5 for every friend that signs up with your referral link and redeems a rebate. If you connect the app to your Facebook account, all of your Facebook friends that are using the app will automatically be added to your team. You can earn bonuses from teammates based on their shopping rebates.

Cons

You must scan the barcode on the product and submit the receipt to claim the rebate. There is a 7 day window for rebates and the receipt must be dated within that time frame. Many of the rebates are for very specific brands and sizes. However, there are several any brand rebate opportunities available.

Exception: When you connect your loyalty card for Ibotta’s Preferred Retail Partners, a receipt is not required for submission if you unlock the rebates BEFORE shopping there. The app will process the purchases when you check-out at the applicable store with your loyalty card.

Ibotta Tips

Unlock rebates as soon as you see them. Scan your applicable product barcodes and submit the receipts as soon as you can. Save your receipts until you receive notification that the submission was successful.

3. Checkout 51 (iOS and Android)

What is it?

This app is very similar to Ibotta. The difference is you are only uploading itemized receipts to redeem rebate offers for specific products with Checkout 51. The rebate offers change every Thursday at 12:00 a.m.

Which forms of payment do you receive?

Currently, the only option is to receive a check by mail. The redemption threshold is $20.

What I have earned with this app

In 7 months, I have earned $4.75.

Pros

The rebates average between $0.50 and $1.00 per product. Receipts are processed quickly. You can mark products with a star to keep a running list of the rebate offers that you want to redeem. You receive notifications on savings and bonuses available. There is a weekly contest to win $500 by uploading a receipt for $60 or more.

Cons

The products that are available for earning rewards are very limited. However, there is a Pick Your Own Offer category that has popular items weekly. All itemized receipts must be dated between 12:00 a.m. the previous Thursday and 11:59 p.m. the upcoming/current Wednesday. The same rule applies to when the receipt must be uploaded. There is no incentive to invite your friends to join, but you can go to Checkout51.com to register.

Checkout 51 Tips

Retain your receipts until you receive a successful submission notification. Upload your applicable receipts during the Thursday to Wednesday timeline.

Check out Part 2 of this series for more everyday shopping apps that pay cash and rewards.

You should also look into Snap by Groupon. It’s new, so the product selection isn’t huge, but does seem to be growing each month. https://snap.groupon.com/app?ref=3f1ebb48844a59e5 Also, one of the easiest, and most profitable for me has been Walmart Saving’s Catcher. Obviously, it’s only good if you shop at Walmart, but you scan the bar code at the bottom of your Walmart reciept. They check local ads, and if they find that you could have gotten something you bought somewhere else for less money, you get the difference. You get the money as a Walmart e-card. I’ve been using it for less than a year, and have already gotten back around $50.